Letter to Freshmen Prewriting

Humboldt State Freshmen:

Bring an umbrella. You might say you don’t need one, but trust me, you do. September and October will go right by without anything more than a drizzle. Us locals will warn you, come November, and one morning you’ll wake up to ankle-deep water on the walkways and no break in the rain for a week. Bring a damn umbrella, and keep it with you. And bring boots.

Be outgoing. It’ll be extremely awkward when you do finally stop staring at the floor and realize that the girl you’ve ignored in math class actually lives on your floor, and you now need someone to study with. Introduce yourself to everyone on your floor, first thing. Some of them will end up being your lifelines when you’re homesick or just sick or need someone to quiz you.
And make sure you set up clear guidelines for living with room mate(s) on day one. Make some rules so there isn’t tension or argumentation later. Don’t worry if you can’t remember anyone’s name at first either. They probably forgot yours too. And you can always be one of those people that are just “bad with names.”

Eat well. Yes, the J supplies ice cream at all times. This doesn’t mean you should eat it all the time. HSU does posses a lot of stairs that will counter the freshman fifteen; however, you still shouldn’t eat all of that ice cream. Besides just being healthy, you should also eat well because sickness goes around like a joint here, and everyone gets it eventually. Good food means good health that means your roommate gets spared from taking care of you as you sweat feverishly. Not getting sick is almost as challenging as Chem 109.

Get to know your advisor and ask them anything and everything. No question is really a stupid question. Someone else probably has asked the same thing. It’s more important that you know what you’re doing and whether you’re on track. Don’t worry too much about your major, not yet. You have a couple years to figure it out and you can change your mind anytime. Just take things that you need as generals and then don’t forget to take something you have fun doing or are really interested in. Explore horizons. You might find something new to love. Your professors are also good to know, or at least be familiar with. They know their subjects well and will always be willing to help you. Don’t see them as scary or intimidating. They are your friends. It also helps to know some upper classmen or even people one semester ahead of you when you choose classes. Ask who the good teachers are or what they would recommend taking. They have been in these classes and know their way around them better than you.

Bikes are fantastic. But you can’t bring them on city buses, only on the main line. Get a lock with a thick cable or a U-lock. And shower caps are fantastic to cover your seat on wet days. Make sure to make eye contact with drivers. My roommate got hit (gently) on her first day riding in town. Be careful.

Take out your trash and keep your room clean. It’s way easier to concentrate on your essay or whatever if you have a good environment. If your dorm room doesn’t work, the third floor of the library is ridiculously quiet. But having a comfortable place to study at late at night is important. Don’t leave food out – the smell will not benefit your study habits. And, if you make a habit of putting things away and such, you won’t need to spend valuable study time cleaning off your desk.
Go to class. It sucks to get over confident in a class, then think you can skip a couple only to find out that you missed something important. Try and schedule your classes at good times, so you don’t constantly have something you’d rather be doing. You will regret skipping classes, especially if you get sick and end up skipping even more stuff. It’s harder to make things up in college than in high school. Deadlines are firmer. But if you are sick, or absolutely can’t go to class, email or talk to your professor, so they know you made an effort, but just can’t go. Ask what you’ll be missing or even better get the numbers of a few people in class so you always have someone to call and ask about missed assignments or clarification on something you missed.

Study for at least two nights before a test. Just studying the night before doesn’t cut it. Exams are usually about fifty questions or longer. Grading usually isn’t on a curve. This is especially important when your grade is completely dependent on exams. Study.

Find the shortcuts to class. Ask around about the back ways to get to places. You’ll need these shortcuts when you’re running late or you’re lugging your laptop to class. Don’t go in the woods alone at night. There are crazy people out there. Stick to main campus at night or bring a friend. Don’t use the footbridge into town by yourself at night. It’s sketchy.

Watch out for drugs. They’re big at any college. Don’t take anything from anyone you don’t know. You think you’re getting a beer and it turns out to have ecstasy in it. Next thing you know you wake up with no idea of where you are or what you did last night. Only take drugs if you trust the person you’re getting them from with your life and you have people around you in case something goes wrong. Also, drugs in class (at least the really bad ones) are no good. You will probably have a bad trip.

The most important thing is to be happy. Take care of your body so you don’t have to worry about that. Eat well, exercise. Don’t leave things till the last minute to keep stress levels down. Stay away from habits that make you unhappy or too tired to go to class. Passing your classes is supposed to be why you’re here. Keep your goal in mind, even if it’s foggy and vague.

Survive. Do what you need to do to stay happy and healthy